Tag: CampNaNo

April Afternoon Tea with SJ + Camp NaNo Update

S. J.10 Comments

Good afternoon! 

I’m finally (?) back again for April Afternoon Tea with SJ! (Hopefully I won’t jinx this one…) 

It feels a little odd since I took a short hitout, but even during that short amount of time, so much has happened I don’t know where to start…

Just to begin with, imagine you’re sitting on a terrace of a manor overlooking the ocean. The water surface is pale blue, and the mountainside slopes gently in the distance. The sun is shining warmly, the flowers are in full bloom around the area, and a soft breeze ruffles your hair. We’re having rose-champagne tea in fine china, the sides are peach charlotte cake, cherry blossom bites, and strawberry mousse. 

Ready?

Here we go…

Ah, books. This month, my reading lagged a bit, but I did meet incredible books. The breakdown is the following:

April Reads

  1. Cinder -Marissa Meyer (YA)
  2. Kakushsigoto -Yoru Sumino (Jpn Fic)
  3. The Westminster Confession of Faith (O3)
  4. Files Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents -Lemony Snicket (MG)
  5. Nejimaki Dori Kuronikuru (The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle) Vol. 1 -Haruki Murakami (Jpn Fic)
  6. How to Run a Country -Cicero (O4)
  7. These Violent Delights -Micah Nemerever (Fic/DA)
  8. Here in the Real World -Sara Pennypacker (JFic)
  9. Democracy in America -Alexis de Tocqueville (O6)
  10. Forgiving What You Can’t Forget -Lysa TerKeurst (NFic)

Currently Reading: Cicero’s Basic Works, Iliad, Henry V

How about another cherry blossom bite? Or more tea? 

I’ve decided to add a new section to AF…Media! Here, I’ll share some music, movies, and other media I’ve fallen in love with for the month. 

Music 

Practising: Mozart’s Rondo in D-dur K485, Brahms Viola Sonata Op. 120 No.2 first movement, Debussy Claire de Lune

Listening to: Dark Academia Playlists, Mozart The Singles, Beethoven ‘Waldstein’ + ‘Spring’ album, Danish String Quartet Prism 1

Movie 

I watched A Beautiful Mind (starring Russel Crowe) and I. Just. Love it! I can’t say anything more than it has major DA vibes and features a mathematician because I might accidentally give away a huge plot twist in the middle of the movie. It reminded me of The Theory of Everything, so this movie is for you if you like the academia vibe with scientists. 

Manga/Anime

This is a totally brand-new section I desperately needed 🙂

I finished The Promised Neverland season 2, and although I guess they ran out of budget towards the end, it made me want to read the manga from the start again! We started Attack on Titan and it’s just…Wow. WHY DID I NEVER PAY PROPER ATTENTION TO IT BEFORE???

Anyhow. I can’t wait to go through this epic manga/anime! Also, Hetalia World Twinkle began serialisation again which I’m squealing all over the place about. 

So, Camp NaNoWriMo update. 

My original camp goal was 25K which I reached the beginning of this week. I’m almost at the 30K mark now, but I won’t be setting a word count goal. Instead, I’ll try to finish Book 2 which I’m at right now. 

A side note: Woodstone Abbey, as you might know, is insanely long. Part of it is due to the way I’ve decided to head the chapters. For instance, I have alternating chapters which are the Roman numeral chapters. In this chapter, there are three numerical chapters, which also have three to five small Roman numeral chapters. (Ex. I. Cognito, ergo sum C1: Dana Housie Beckett i. ) Mind-boggling, I know. 

More tea, anyone? I also stocked raspberry Earl Grey tea (which I’m actually drinking right now) and it’s heavenly. Perfect for spring. 

Right, then. Academics…

I found out I got accepted into a university in the Bachelor of Arts!! It’s one of the top three ranking unis in Canada (top 25 in the world, their website claims), so I’m super hyped. Fun story: The admission decision came five days before I realised it. I spent those days thinking I’d failed. #reasonstocheckyourinbox

I also got an entrance scholarship that covers about half of the first-year cost, and I still can’t believe it. My family’s suggesting I should go punch myself to make sure it’s not a dream. *cough, violence, cough, cough*

I think most of you might remember, but I talked about a super controversial topic on my blog last month–LGBTQ2+ and the Christian Writer. Well, there’s a continuing story to it. One of my IRL friends read the blog, told someone about it, and I was offered an opportunity to speak at a SOGI rally. (FYI, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) 

The focus was on parental rights and child medical transition concerning a court case that happened locally. It was a nerve-wracking experience, but I’m so glad I got to do this public speaking event! 

I also hosted a high schooling homeschooler panel discussion, which was immensely fun! 

So, yes, life happened in great quantity, and I’m glad it did.  😉

That’s about it for today! I hope you’ve enjoyed this tea time. 

What did you think? How has April been so far? What are some books you’ve read? Music you’re listening to? Are you looking forward to school ending soon? Let me know in the comments below; I’d love to chat with you!

Camp NaNoWriMo + Short Hitouts Notice

S. J.8 Comments

Hullo, world!

You might be wondering what happened to me last week. You were probably pouring yourself tea (or coffee) waiting for March Afternoon Tea with SJ to go live at three.

But it never happened.

Yes, I do apologise about that. If you’re subscribed to my email list, you’d probably know, but the green pepper accident happened. Here’s the excerpt straight from that section:

My Sad Disclaimer About Why There’s No March ’21 Afternoon Tea

Some of you are probably wondering why I didn’t do my AT this month. This is because I had a painful and kind of hilarious accident that weekend. 

Saturday, I had a seminar (which was super empowering) all morning, then I had work in the afternoon and I realised I won’t be able to update my blog. Which is just fine, because I thought, “Hey, I’ll do it Sunday!”

Sunday came, and I was helping mum empty green pepper seeds. Green pepper, as all normal people know, is not something to be handled–well, with bare hands. I’m not normal, I used my bare hands to get the extremely hot seeds out. My hands are red, my face is red, everything I eat is spicy, and still I’m not sure. I think, “Hey, I’ll do it Monday! It’s not ideal, but I can’t type like this.”

Monday comes. I wake up with my hands (esp. my fingertips) practically glowing, I’m starting to feel miserable, and mum googles symptoms. It turns out there are a lot of abnormal people out there who suffered just like me and put out tips of all sort to relieve the pain starting with washing with oil and ending with drinking vodka. I would have liked to try the vodka option, but I ended up doing everything other than that and spent Monday in agony. Tuesday was work, and by that time I’d given up seeing a March ’21 AT on my blog. 

The End. 

So yes, that happened. Cut short to the chase, quick stats for March are the following:

  • Read 19 books (Which now makes 50 books /120 books I’m planning to read this year)
  • Wrote 9K in an experimental WIP
  • Loose concept edit of [ETT] which is part 1 of Juliet
  • Printed out [ZWEI] and did a quick read-through
  • Printed out Woodstone Book 1 and did a quick read-through
  • Life happened a lot. Just saying.

And now to the real topic of the day…

Camp NaNoWriMo Season is Back!!!

Yes, that’s right. I just started Camp NaNoWriMo! *inserts cheers and fanfares* Like usual, I won’t be doing it on the website because, reasons. After spending much time debating which WIP I should work on, I’ve gone back to Woodstone Abbey…spring is WS season, y’all.

Check out the story :: Explore the world :: Read My Progress Report

I first thought I’ll go for half-WriMo which would be 25K, but I might do the full one given the progress I’m making so far. We’ll see, we’ll see…

But What of This Hit-Outs I Hear About???

Yes, you heard right. I’ll be on a short hit-outs for the month of April to focus on Camp NaNo and also my life where I’m doing lots of exciting shiny things™. Given the schedule, I don’t think I can fit in blogging on top of everything else I’m doing, so I’ll be taking a break. But don’t worry, I will be back for April Afternoon Tea. Hopefully I won’t jinx it again. 🙂

And that’s it for now!

How did March go for you? What are some of your plans this April? Are you doing Camp NaNoWriMo? Let me know in the comments below; I’d love to chat with you!